


Dyler

by Iluvbeyblade (Mazeem)



Category: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade, Beyblade
Genre: 13 year old me also didn't thinkvery much of Tyson forgive her, Beybattles, F/M, Hilary gets a bit-beast, Internalised Misogyny, Pre-Relationship, Rare Pairings, Romance was intended, Whump, teenage humour, this is 16 years old be kind, very old fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-10-15
Updated: 2006-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26746651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazeem/pseuds/Iluvbeyblade
Summary: Reposted from ff.net, where my pen-name was Iluvbeyblade."When Max collapses during a training session, Hilary is more than usually worried. Later, Max realises that he might just have a crush on the one girl that he thinks would never want him."
Relationships: Hilary Tachibana/Max Mizuhara





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first ever fic, and for some unknown reason, it was Max/Hilary??
> 
> The publishing date I put on this is October 2004, which is earlier than it appears on my ffnet but is much more accurate to when I actually started writing. 
> 
> So ... yeah, I wrote this between the ages of 13 and 15 lol, be kind lol. There is a hell of a lot of unexamined sexism and internalised misogyny in this. 
> 
> I thought about rewriting it, but at the moment I'm more interested in trying to archive all my old stuff here. I have over 70 fics on there, many multi-chapter, so this might take a little while lol.

"Max?" Hilary asked worriedly. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, Hilary, I'm fine!" sighed Max, for what felt like the tenth time. "God, **girls**! Spare me!" he groaned inwardly.

Sure, he felt a bit "rough round the edges" as his mum put it, but that was probably due to Kai's new "training" regime. _Training? More like torture!_ he grimanced. Plus, Hilary had suddenly announced she needed to learn how to blade. On hearing this, Kai had gone conveniently deaf and Tyson had left the room in a hurry. At least Ray had had an excuse. Mind you, nobody really wants to be stuck in bed with a horrendous case of the flu. Although Max had been tempted. Anyway the long and short of it was, he had gotten stuck with teaching Hilary the basics of blading. He didn't mind _too_ much though, she could be quite fun when she was in a good mood!

Despite his (and everyone else's) doubts, Hilary was coming on unnaturally fast. Only her sixth day and Max was having to use pretty much full strength on her. Which wasn't much, as she _kept_ on telling him...

"Max!" Hilary shrieked as her turquoise blade sent Draciel flying, "You're not paying attention! There's no way I should be able to beat you that easily...Max? Maax!" Worried now, Hilary ran over to Max and waved her hand in front of his eyes. Max blinked hard and shook himself.

"I'm OK Hil, don't worry about me." he said tiredly. "DON'T WORRY!" exploded Hilary. "How can I help worrying when this is the second time you've blacked out on me, I'm beating you with one hand tied behind my back, and Draciel wobbles from the second you launch it?"

"I didn't black out." Max muttered. Suddenly, he felt an excruciating pain in his side. Watching as the room faded into blackness, he slid down to the floor. Scared, Hilary felt his forehead, nearly passed out herself and ran for the rest of the team.

Max came round slowly, unsure where he was, or why he felt so weak and swimmy. He forced his eyes open just in time to see what looked like Kenny disappearing through a door. _A door? I thought we were in the practice room..._ Just before he fell unconscious again, he caught some of the conversation fron next door, but was too tired to understand it.

"Kenny, for the tenth time, **. ?"**

"Yes Kai, sorry Kai."

"Well?"

"I-I really hope it's is just because Tyson's been messing around with this again...Umm...104?

" ** _WHAT!"_**

"Um, sorry Kai,"

Kenny, buddy, _please_ tell me you're kidding?"

"Nope, sorry Tyson"

"Argh, that does it! Tyson, where's your phone?"

"Through here Kai...hey Hil, you coming? _**Hilary**_?"

"Oh Max...What? Yes, I'm coming Tyson!" _Max..._


	2. Chapter 2

" _What? Where am I now?"_ thought Max as he struggled to peel his eyelids apart.

He was lying in a bed, but it didn't feel like his bed, or the sleeping bag he used when he was at Tyson's. Hard, plasticky sheets crackled underneath him. Through his blurred vision, he saw all of the team standing round the bed, (except from Ray) looking extremely worried.

"Guys..." he croaked. "What's wrong?" Kai and Hilary exchanged glances, then Kai stepped forwards looking slightly awkward.

"Right, Max, do you know where you are?" Max shook his head slightly. "You're in hospital with a high fever and a burst appendix."

"W-What?" stammered Max, confused. _High fever? What's he talking about?_ With an reproachful look at Kai, Hilary pushed him slightly out the way, causing Tyson to have stifled hysterics at her daring. There was a pause as Hilary thought how best to phrase the problem.

"Hey, Max!" she said softly.

"Hi..."

"Max, do you remember us training?"

"Uh huh."

"Do you remember blacking out at the end?"

"Umm, sort of..."

"Good. Well, you blacked out because you're not well Max. You've got a temperature. Don't worry about it, just get better soon OK?"

"'K..."

Later, in the waiting room,

"I'm going back to the do-jo to fill Ray in. Kenny, Hilary, try to keep Tyson out of trouble and keep him _away_ from the vending machines."

"Yes Kai!"

"Yes Kai, no Kai, three bags full Kai," Tyson muttered under his breath. "What a cheek! It's not like I'm always hungry..."

 _No, just most of the time!_ thought Hilary. She caught Kenny's eye. _3,2,1..._

"Guys!" Tyson moaned, "I'm **hungry!** Ow, Hillary what was that for?"

Three hours and seven sneak trips to the vending machine later, Kai returned in a very bad temper. Note to self, he thought, never go anywhere **near** Ray when he's worried about a team mate.

"Ray give you a hard time then?" smiled Hilary, sensing Kai's black mood.

Kai grunted. Not only had Ray made Kai tell him what the doctor had said five times in a row and asked numerous unanswerable questions, he had **kept** on asking Kai if he could come and visit Max. Over and over and over and...argh!

"God, that guy just won't take no for an answer!" Kai complained. Ray had even tried to get out of bed, but had thankfully felt too dizzy to try anything else, and had gotten back into bed relatively quietly.

"Umm, Kai?" Hillary said tentatively, "What _did_ the doctor say?"

"What? Hilary, you were in the room weren't you?"

"Yeah, but I guess I wasn't listening all that well..." Hilary trailed off. God! She's turning into Tyson! thought Kai, irritated. "Well Hillary, the doctor said that Max had a dangerously high temperature and they would try and bring it down. Apparently, the fever is nothing to do with the burst appendix." Hilary ignored the sarcasm and went to gloat over Tyson's indigestion, still concerned about Max.


	3. Chapter 3

"Go Driger!" cried Ray. Driger rushed forwards, trying to bash Hillary's turquoise blade out of the stadium. Hilary concentrated fiercely, summoning up a powerwave strong enough to send Ray's blade on a one-way trip to the ceiling. Ray looked, stunned, at his smoking blade.

"Told you!" Tyson laughed in his ear. Tyson had already lost to Hilary twice and both bladers were finding it hard to believe she could have got this good in a couple of days. After all, as Tyson put it, you don't get good enough to beat two world class bladers without years of practice, or at least, that was the theory!

"I wish Kai was here," moaned Tyson. "He'd know how to beat her!" Unfortunately for them, Kai had woken up with a blinding migrane and after telling them to take Hilary's mind off Max for at least an hour, he had retreated to the bedroom they all shared with a bucket and a KEEP OUT sign on the door.

"So..." Ray mused, "How do we beat someone who knows all our moves inside out?"

"And back to front!" added Tyson helpfully. Ray sighed.

"We've got to come up with a new strategy, something she'd never think of in a million years - Hey, how about this?" Ray leaned over and whispered in Tyson's ear.

Meanwhile, Hilary was recovering from the shock of having beaten two bladers in a row without her blade stopping spinning. Ray had been right, this did help take her mind off Max...

No, don't think about Max, don't think about how confused and upset he had looked, lying in the hospital bed with wires sprouting everywhere, don't think Hilary, don't you dare think-

" ** _DRAT!"_** she hissed and re-launched her blade so viciously the friction nearly set her brand-new launcher on fire. What were Ray and Tyson doing anyway? Uh oh, this didn't look good. Why were they grinning? And what were they talking about?

"Are you sure this'll work Ray?" Tyson asked anxiously. " I couldn't stand being beaten **three** times by _Hilary_!" Ray sighed.

"Don't worry so much, Tyson! Listen, she's already played three matches in a row, right?"

"Left."

"TYSON!"

"Sorry Ray, um, what were you saying again?"

"So, _like I was saying_ , do you really think anybody could play three in a row and still have enough energy to beat the both of us at the same time? I don't think any of us, Kai included, could do _that_!"

"Definitely not Kai at the moment. He's like a walking zombie! Ha ha, a zombie with a headache, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... **_OW_**! Ray, what was that for?" Tyson groaned, rubbing his arm.

"If you guys are _quite_ finished?" 

_Ouch!_ Ray thought. "Y-Yes Hilary!"

"Since you've obviously got some type of plan, I suggest you put it into practice!" Hilary said acidly. She'd forgotten how much fun baiting boys was! She grabbed her blade, looked up and blanched at the two( _two?_ ) blades facing her.

"Scared?" Tyson challenged. Hilary smiled dangerously.

"Not a bit!"

"And 3, 2...LET IT RIP!" they yelled.

"DRIGER!"

"DRAGOON!"

"Attack!" both boys yelled, their powerful bit-beasts racing towards the apparently defenceless turquoise blade. Suddenly, everything seemed to gang up on Hilary at once.

Max and the hospital and blading-and-Max-and-the-bitbeasts-and-MaxandMax andMax...

As Dragoon and Driger reached Hilary's blade, her eyes snapped open, she flung her head back and screamed.

" ** _Dyler!"_**

A massive shockwave pounded through the room, momentarily stunning Tyson and Ray and making their blades crash two metres into the wall, causing a massive crater worthy of a small meteorite. Tyson recovered first, saw Hilary and ran towards her, followed closely by Ray. Together, they lifted the unconscious girl up and tried to wake her.

"Guys," a testy voice complained, "Next time you blade, kindly give me a little advance warning!" Kai was chalk white and trembling. Then he noticed Hilary. " What happened?" he cried, running over as fast as he could and sitting down unsteadily.

"Kai, are you sure you should be up?" asked Ray uneasily, eyeing their captin's drawn face.

"I'm fine, Ray. Now _what happened_?"

Okay, let me get this straight," Kai asked disbelievingly. "You set _both_ your bit-beasts on her _at the same time_?" Ray and Tyson nodded mutely. "And she beat you!" He smirked. About time someone took Tyson down a peg or two! "How badly?"

"Look behind you." laughed Ray, pointing towards the still-smoking crater in the wall. Kai whistled approvingly.

"Where's her blade?" All three boys looked around the wrecked pratice room, till Tyson spotted a turquoise flash only a couple of feet away from them and ran to pick it up. As his hand got within touching distance, Hilary stirred and rolled over.

"Huh? Guys, what happened? What was that light?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"Were you scared, Hil?" asked Ray softly.

Hilary was still shaken, so instead of putting on a brave face, she simply nodded and started crying. Ray and Tyson took turns hugging and comforting her, while Kai recovered from moving his head too fast. When the pain in his head had dulled to an ache and Hilary's crying reduced to quiet hiccups, he suggested they take her back to the bedroom and tomorrow, they would visit Max and he would ring Kenny.

"Why?" asked Tyson.

"Because they need to know what just happened." Kai explained

"Max too?" asked Ray.

"Yeah. His temperature dropped dramatically earlier. He's almost recovered now." Kai said.

"WHAT? And you made me miss it?" cried Hilary.

"Yeah, well..." Kai rested his fingertips lightly against his throbbing temples. "Sorry."

" Um, Kai? What _did_ just happen?" Oh God, Kai thought, save me from people like Tyson!

" Tyson, go and get Hilary's blade. Good. Now flip it face up." Utter silence fell as the four of them looked at the previously blank bit-chip.

"Is that what I think it is?" Clever Tyson! Go to top of the class! Kai thought sarcastically. Wait! he thought suddenly. He could still feel the power in the air. Where had he felt it before? Or, not it exactly, but something very similar...

"A...bitbeast..." Hilary breathed, looking in amazement at the blurry form in the chip.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well Max , welcome back to the land of-you-wish-you-weren't-living!" gasped Tyson, panting noisily. Kai wasn't letting them off easily by any meaning of the word. Actually, Tyson was beginning to forget the meaning of the word easy... The day after Max was discharged, Kai had decided they'd all gone soft. Even Kenny and Max had had to join in. Results? Welcome to the third day of Hell.

"RIGHT, THAT'S IT YOU GUYS! AND **STOP**!" They all collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. "Okay, everyone. I want you all to run seven times round Tyson's house. That's a mile for those of you who can't work it out, ok, Tyson? All right, line up! Ray, do it in four minutes and not a second more, Tyson, Hilary, eight minutes or less, preferably less, Max, don't push yourself too hard but do it in under ten minutes, Kenny...um...just don't fall over more than five times, _please_. If I catch anyone DARING to walk, they'll be doing push-ups for a month. I'll run this too, but only five laps, then I'll be watching you all from the finish line. Tyson, _remember what I said about walking_!"

" Nobody but Kai could call five laps of the do-jo _only_!" groaned Tyson. The others tried not to laugh.

"OK, 3,2,1...Go!"

Six minutes and thirty-five seconds later, Hilary arrived, panting, at the finish line.

"Good running, Hil!" said a suprised Ray.

"Thanks. I like running anyway, so it wasn't that hard." said Hillary modestly, trying to slow her frantic breathing down. "How did you do?"

"Not that badly actually, 3 minutes 20 seconds." admitted a proud Ray, who, in contrast to Hilary, looked like he'd just got off the sofa.

"Wow!" said Hilary, awed. "That's better than most pro athletes!" Next up was Tyson. As he stumbled in, Hilary snorted with laughter. "Somebody should tell him that lying spread-eagled on the floor doesn't help much! Hey look, there's Max!"

"He's done well!" commented Ray. Thirty minutes after the run started, Kai looked at his watch.

"That does it! Ray, come with me!" he commanded. Ray obeyed and the two of them jogged off to find Kenny. Five minutes later, Kai was pacing up and down the line of bladers. "Right, Ray, Hilary, very good, go sit down. Tyson...well I suppose you did manage it in less than eight minutes...five push-ups because you're an annoying little idiot, then sit down. Max, not bad considering, go sit down. Kenny..." Kai paused for a moment, looking at the sweaty, gasping heap in front of him, then sighed. "Oh go on then Chief, you look like something the cat spat out."

"Right guys. Not good enough! Next time, I want-"

"Next time!" Max groaned "It was too hard this time, let alone _next time_!"

"Oh, stop being such a baby, Max!" Hilary hissed, nudging him playfully. "We all know that being in hospital for a month with a sky-high temperature is no reason to not perform your best!" she laughed.

"Good Kai imitation!" whispered Max, trying to stifle his laughter.

"I know!" grinned Hilary cheekily.

"Will you two kindly shut up?" Silence.

"That was your fault!" crowed Max gleefully.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Erm, guys?" Ray whispered urgently. "I'd stop that _really_ soon if I were you..." They both turned around just in time to witness a glare that could have frozen a volcano. Kai turned away contemptuously.

"Anyway, _as I was saying,_ tomorrow we'll be practising blading-"

"At last!"

"Tyson, ssh!"

"Sorry, Hilary."

"-so I don't want anyone being stupid or messing around." Kai looked meaningfully at Hilary and Max.

"Yes Kai." they said meekly.

* * *

Hilary tossed and turned fretfully, trying to run away from her nightmare.

_Max crumpled to the floor, "I'm OK, Hil, don't worry about me...don't worry about me..."_

_Ray and Tyson bent over her, eyes full of concern as she lay on the practice room floor_

_Screaming with shock as her bitbeast emerged_ , _her heart tearing in half with pain, worry and fear._

_Falling, scared and confused, into Max's sea-blue eyes, magnified a thousandfold. "Don't worry about me..."_

Hilary sat bolt upright, breathing hard and shaking. She was crying, she realised, big tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping onto her pink sleeping bag.

"Hil, you alright?"

She looked to the side and saw a familiar figure sitting on his bed, staring at at her, blue eyes wide with concern. She flung herself at Max, sobbing as she buried her head in his shoulder.

"Ssh Hilary, it's OK, it was just a dream. Everything's all right now, calm down, ssh, you're OK." Max soothed, inwardly wondering what had caused this much of a reaction in the usually composed Hilary. He hugged her tightly, watching as she slowly unclenched her fists and began to relax. He drew away as she rubbed her eyes fiercely and tried to smile. "You OK now?" he asked gently.

"Yeah," Hilary whispered. And she was, really, just a bit cold, she thought fuzzily. Max saw she was still shaking and turned round, rummaging through his suitcase till he found what he wanted.

"Here." he said. Hilary looked down and smiled. It was an old yellow teddy bear. "I always found him useful when I was upset." said Max, slightly embarrassed.

"Thanks Max." she said happily, "He's great!"

"Remember, if you need me, I'm right here." Max said softly.

"Mmm..." Hilary fell asleep, lulled by Max's comforting presence. Good, she's asleep. Max thought. She should be OK now. Wish I could get to sleep, it's gonna be a really hard day tomorrow... Just as he drifted off, he found himself wondering how Hilary would cope with coming face to face with her bitbeast. Something told him she was scared of it... Really scared.


	5. Chapter 5

"What? You think she's scared of her own bitbeast?" Kai asked increduously. "How do you know?"

Max shifted uncomfortably. Kai never had much time for feelings.

"I just do," he admitted. "And you've got to admit, Kai," he hurried on. "She has a good reason. The first time she used it, it knocked her out, stunned her friends and completly wrecked the room! I think she's scared of what it can do. And, as you know, if she doesn't want to control it, she won't, and God knows what'll happen this time!" Max finished, knowing he'd said the truth and wondering how the rest of the team would react.

"Okay then, Maxie, what do you propose we **_do_** about it?" Kai asked sarcastically, while the others watched nervously.

"Well... OK, I've got an idea," Max said hesitantly. "But you're not going to like it..." Everyone clustered round Max.

"Well then, what's the idea?" demanded Tyson

"Yeah and hurry up about it, it's not gonna be long before Hilary's out the bathroom, she _only_ spends half an hour in there!" said Ray, smirking.

"Alright then, here it is..."

"WHAT!"

"I said you wouldn't..."

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Hilary was trying to relax in a scalding hot bath.

You'd be suprised how hot a bath can go if it's Tyson paying! she thought, laughing silently.

But how do you relax when your thoughts resemble a shopping mall queue, with everything jostling for for position at once and one thought always getting shoved to the back, only to try and work it's way up again?

Because, without really knowing it at first, Max had been dead right.

Hilary **_was_** scared of her bitbeast. Scared of what it might do to the team if it got the chance. She'd seen the others with their bitbeasts, so she knew that they were supposed to obey you, and that they got stronger if you became friends with them. But how could she become friends with something that had knocked her out?

She climbed out the bath and got dressed. As she pulled on her new skirt, she felt something bumpy in one of the pockets. She drew out her blade and stared at it. No! If the rest of the team could do it, then so would she! Feeling better, she examined herself in the mirror. She wanted to make an entrance, and this outfit should do the trick!

So, as the BladeBreakers walked towards the training room, restored to its usual state thanks to Mr Dickenson, they were all thinking about the matches they were going to have to fight. Nobody except Kenny was supposed to know who was going to be facing who, so it was with not a little nervousness that they all entered the room and lined up against the wall, facing Kenny. Then Hilary made her entrance. Every jaw in the room hit the floor. When they'd all recovered a little, they entered the well known sport of staring and wolfwhistling. After all, Hillary didn't usually wear;

**gold earrings,**

**2 necklaces,**

**a skimpy, clingy, off the shoulder blouse,**

**a long, black, skirt with a slit right up the side,** and

**three inch heels with straps up to her knees.**

No, definitely not normal. Kai frantically tried to think of something cutting to say to disguise the fact that he had been staring as much as any of them. All he came up with was,

"I hope you can blade in those heels. Now, everyone line back up, and, Tyson, please stop whistling at Hilary!" Once the boys had finally stopped taking sneak glances at Hilary, Kenny unrolled a poster.

"Right guys, here we go. The pairings are: Tyson, you're with Ray, Hilary, you're with Kai, and Max, you're facing whoever wins out of Kai and Hilary." Silence ruled as the rest of the team craned their necks, trying to see Kai's and Hilary's expressions. Hilary looked nervous. Kai looked like someone had just slapped him, hard.

"This is gonna be an interesting match." muttered Tyson. Max and Ray nodded. Kai was one of the best bladers in the team and the only one Hilary hadn't faced yet. However, as she had proved, Hilary was more than capable of taking world class bladers down, easily. But Kai didn't lose without a struggle...oh this **_was_ **going to be an interesting battle!

One win for Tyson later, Hilary and Kai stepped up to the dish.

"You ready, Hilary?" Kai smirked. Hilary nodded.

"All right!" yelled Max. "And...3...2...1... LET IT RIP!" The two blades spun into the beystadium and started circling each other.

"Wow!" said Kenny, typing furiously. "Two perfect launches!" Tyson looked nervously at the blades.

"So, come on then, Kenny. Who's gonna win?" he said heatedly.

"Well, on paper and by sheer experience, there's no doubting that Kai's the stronger of the two," Kenny stated. "But..."

"Hilary's got her bitbeast." Ray finished. Kenny nodded.

"Exactly!" he said.

"Kenny, you didn't answer my question!" moaned Tyson, punching his friend lightly on the arm. Kenny sighed.

"I honestly have no idea, Tyson."

"First time for everything!" Tyson sniggered. "Sorry, Chief." he said quickly, seeing the flash of hurt in Kenny's eyes.

Hilary sent her blade forwards, trying to finish the fight quickly. Dranzer easily dodged the clumsy attacks, and the counter-attack nearly knocked her out of the dish. Kai smirked. This was easy!

"Come on Hilary, is that really all you've got?" he taunted. "Show me the power that beat the three time-World Champion!"

"Don't remind me about that!" complained Tyson. "It's bad enough knowing she beat me, without reminding me I'm World Champ too!" Kai shot him a filthy look.

"Tyson, be quiet." Hilaryordered automatically.

She watched Kai's blade as it spun in the centre of the dish, and thought hard. She knew that it was no use trying to wait it out until Kai stopped spinning, because Kai had trained until his blade had the longest spinning time on the planet. No, that was no use. She was going to have to do this the hard way.

She began to concentrate fiercely, sending waves of power into her waiting blade.

Seeing this, Kai started to build up his own power. Both blades slowly began to glow, one red, the other blue-green.

Without warning, Hilary launched her blade. It streaked across the dish, a turquoise blur of speed. Kai didn't so much as twitch. A wall of flame shot out fron his blade, stopping Hilary in her tracks. Hilary concentrated harder, pouring her energy out.

As her blade slammed into the flames, Kai was thrown off balance. Raising both arms in protection, he battled to stay steady under her furious attack. Watching, waiting, he saw her guard slip slightly. He gathered his power, and, body glowing red, flung himself forwards, pushing Hillary's blade violently backwards.

Hilary stumbled backwards. The two bladers looked up and met each other's eyes. Their blades slowed down slightly, spinning in one place.

"By the looks of it, they've decided to take a break." whispered Kenny.

"So, what do you think of the fight so far then, Chief?" Max whispered back.

"Intense." replied Kenny. "Tell me, in your battles with Hilary, did either of you battle at full strength?" Ray and Tyson shook their heads.

"No. Not like this." Tyson muttered. Kenny nodded in satisfaction.

"I thought so. There's no way Hilary could've beaten you that easily if you were going at full power Especially you, Tyson. Wait a sec-" Kenny leaned forwards and stared at the computer screen, suddenly alert. Ray leaned in.

"Forget the laptop, guys!" Tyson said in an awed voice. "Check Hilary and Kai out!" The other three turned to see.

Hilary was sweating and panting heavily, obviously suffering. Kai however, was in much better shape, only a thin sheen of sweat on his face showing that he was even trying. "Why is Hil looking so worn out, Kenny?" Tyson asked. Kenny typed something into his laptop.

"Oh no!" he said worriedly. "I was afraid of this!"

"What's going on?" Max asked sharply. Kenny swallowed.

"Hilary's bit-beast wants to fight. Badly. Hillary's using up most of her remaining energy just trying to keep it in. Kai's sensing this, and that's why he isn't attacking."

"Why is Kai not attacking her a bad thing?" Ray asked.

"In a way, it would be best if Kai just took her out now because the longer this battle goes on for the less control Hilary is going to have over her bit-beast and Mr Dickenson's only just repaired this from last time." Kenny said quickly, his face turning slightly blue with the effort of saying that in one breath.

Kai narrowed his eyes. So, Max was right. She _was_ scared of her bit-beast. Well, if she wouldn't bring it out voluntarily, he would put her into a position where she _had_ to summon it, or lose the match. Dranzer began to glow again as Kai powered up, swirling blue flames hovering round the beyblade as it glowed red.

"Hey, Hilary!" Kai said curtly. "You might be good, but can you beat _this_?" His blade was now almost too bright to look at, and something was beginning to emerge from the bit.

"Kai's called Dranzer out!" Tyson breathed. With a harsh yell, Kai released his bit-beast.

The massive phoenix soared out of Kai's blade and flew in a shimmering circle, sparks flying from it. Hilary flinched backwards. The urge to summon her bitbeast was almost too much, and she fell to her knees as it tried to push its way out. Exerting all her will, Hilary pulled it back in and stumbled to her feet, waiting for Kai's attack.

Kai was almost unrecognisable as sapphire flames licked up and down his body.

"Hilary." His voice was flat and emotionless, crackling with the elemental force he had unleashed. "I have at my control one of the most destructive forces in the world. Fire. If you have anything you think might help," A slight smirk crossed his mouth. "then I suggest you use it."

He waited. Hilary didn't move, couldn't move.

"Oh well. Don't say I didn't warn you. _GO DRANZER_!" he roared. Dranzer flew at Hilary's blade, a spitting, blazing beacon of destruction, his flaming feathers turning the whole room red and blue.

Hilary screwed her eyes up and shoved her bit-beast back into the blade again, covering her face with her arm as Dranzer came nearer and nearer. She whimpered, expecting any second to feel blistering heat scalding her, to see her blade flying out of the dish.

Nothing happened. In fact, the glow seemed to be dying away...

She lowered her arm and stared at the blade, then at Kai, then at his blade again.

The blue beyblade was lying a few centimetres away from her own, not spinning.

She blinked, confused. What had happened? She hadn't done anything, she was sure of that, and neither had her bitbeast. So what the heck had just happened?

She looked again at Kai, who was lying on his side, sweat dripping off him, breathing raggedly. A nasty suspicion began forming in her mind, and she went to pick up her blade.

Suddenly, her blade flew at her. Hilary stumbled backwards, panicking. A hand snatched it out of the air a second before it would have hit her. Smiling tensely, Max handed her the blade.

"There we are, Hil! It's okay, your bitbeast just got a bit frustrated at not being able to fight. It should be fine now." he said reassuringly. Hilary silently took her blade, noticing red smears on it. She dropped it and looked up quickly, to see Max pull a face and flex his hand, wincing. She grabbed his hand and looked silently at the long cuts on it. Max pulled his hand away. "It's okay-" he started.

"Shut up! Just _shut up_!" Hilary screamed, scrambling to her feet. All of the emotions of the past month welled out of her as she yelled at her friends. "You don't care what I think! Any of you! All you care about is whether I can handle my bit-beast or not-"

"Hil, calm down, please, it's not like that-" Hilary drew back her hand and slapped Max round the face. He stood still, shocked into silence.

Hilary spun round to face the others, furious tears pouring down her cheeks. "Oh, it's not, is it? That's what all this was about, wasn't it? Setting me up to fight with Kai because he was the only one who had a hope of scaring me enough to summon it? And if he hadn't stopped his attack at the last minute, my blade would've been destroyed, because I wouldn't bring my bit-beast out! And I don't have to think about who's idea this was. Thanks Max. Thanks a whole lot!" Tyson took a few steps forwards, face radiating concern.

"Hil, c'mon-"

"Shut your mouth!" spat Hilary. "I hate you! I hate you all! Just go away and leave me alone! Leave me _alone_!" She spun on her heel and ran out the door. As her choking sobs faded, there was absolute silence.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'd better go after her..." said Tyson wretchedly, moving towards the door.

"No...I'll go." Max said quietly. He took several deep breaths, tears streaming from his eyes, cheek burning red. "And I hope you're all gonna think about what she just said. 'Cause we deserved it." His breath catching in a sob, he turned and walked out of the door. Kai tried to pull himself up and failed. Automatically, Ray went over to help him up, and all four of them stared at the door, too shocked to speak.

Max walked quickly down the corridor, fuming.

"Why didn't I notice she was unhappy? _Why_ did I have to suggest that stupid idea to Kai? If he hadn't stopped in time..." He broke off abruptly as he heard crying up ahead.

Breaking into a run, he dashed into the kitchen and stopped dead in the doorway, his anger melting away as he saw the pathetic bundle of misery huddled beside the cooker. Hilary slowly lifted her head and looked at Max through puffy, red eyes. Max moved forwards, and the two of them stared at each other.

"I'm s-sorry, Max..." Hilary stammered. Max smiled gratefully, glad to not be confronted with more hysterics.

"Hilary..." He knelt down and hugged her tightly, provoking a fresh onslaught of tears.

"Oh Max, I was so horrible, a-and I called everyone names and Kai's exhausted now and it's my fault, and..." Her voice trailed off and she looked up, meeting Max's eyes. She gently turned his head so that she could see his cheek. When she saw the livid red mark, her face crumpled again. "And I-I _hit_ you...oh Max, I'm so sorry..." she sobbed. Max rubbed her back comfortingly, Hilary's tears staining his green T-shirt.

"It's alright Hil. Nobody blames you, if anything it's our fault, not yours." Hilary looked up at him, her eyelashes spiky with tears, bottom lip trembling.

"Okay..." she whispered. Max grinned wickedly, his natural cheerfulness back in full force.

"And now, you're going to take that beautifully pathetic look off your face, dry your eyes, and I'm going to suggest that we go out for dinner, as a team for once." Hilary brightened up immediately, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand.

"Yeah! We haven't done that for ages!" Max laughed.

"Yeah, I think that had something to do with the fact that Kai threated to rip Tyson's tongue out last time if he ate more than seven courses!"

"Then he ate ten!"

"Uh-huh! Then, he had to barricade himself in the loos for an hour-"

"While we all tried to calm Kai down-"

"And failed! They couldn't be in the same room as each other for a week!" The two of them laughed hysterically at the memory, then suddenly realised that they were still hugging each other. Blushing, they pulled away, muttering apologies. "So, shall we go?" asked Max, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

"Let's!" giggled Hilary, linking arms with him as they walked out of the kitchen.

"Hi Ray!" they chorused, spotting him standing at the door to the practice room, looking in.

"Hiya, you two! You okay now, Hil?" Ray asked distractedly, still looking round the door.

"Yeah, fine thanks. What's up?" Hilary asked, cheekily pulling Ray's long hair. He grunted in mild protest, wrapping his black ponytail round his waist for protection.

"Tyson and Kai are having a slanging match again." he sighed. The other two groaned.

" What, again?" Max moaned. "That's the fourth one in two days!"

"Yeah, I know...Listen to them go!" Ray marvelled. They all fell quiet, listening.

"Greedy, lazy, slob!"

"Heartless, jealous snob!"

"You only won the World Championship by pure luck!"

"What, three times? And once was against you, unless you've forgotten!"

"You were so bad I ended up falling asleep mid-match!"

"Oh, was that why it suddenly got harder? You should fall asleep more often!" There was a trace of laughter in Tyson's voice now, and outside, the eavesdroppers relaxed.

"Good. They're not serious anymore!" breathed Ray. "I hate having to hold them back. Kai always-" He stopped mid-sentence.

"Just face it, Kai!" Tyson's voice hardened. "You'll never be as good as me, no matter what you do!"

"Oh no, Tyson, that's not a good idea..." Ray muttered, then slipped round the door and stood, ready. Kai's eyes flashed.

"Oh really?" he said stiffly.

"Yeah, really!" Kai flushed and took a step forwards.

"I could beat you any day!" he snarled, voice dangerously soft.

"Yeah, right!" Tyson snorted. In two strides, Kai was on him, pinning him to the floor. He wrenched Tyson's blade from his hand and threw it to the floor. Eyes blazing with anger, he punched Tyson in the stomach. Tyson doubled up, gasping for breath. Kai raised his fist again. Ray ran in, grabbing Kai's wrist and pulling him off Tyson.

"Tyson, get out!" he yelled. "I can't hold him back if you're here!" Kai twisted around and tried to punch Ray round the face, eyes wild with fury. Ray ducked. "Tyson!" he yelled again. "Get _out_!" Tyson nodded, frightened by the insane look on Kai's face. He picked himself up, and ran out of the door.

Kai bucked and kicked, trying to break Ray's grasp. Ray tightened his grip, jerking Kai's hand behind his back.

"Come on Kai," he panted. "I don't like having to fight you, just calm down a bit-"

"Calm down? Not a chance!" was Kai's answer. Or words to that effect...

"Kai, Tyson isn't here anymore, don't make me do this..." Ray pleaded.

"Go to hell!"

Oh damn! thought Ray. I really don't want to fight him- His thoughts were cut off as Kai twisted round again and punched him round the head. Dizzy, Ray stumbled unsteadily. Right, he thought. You asked for this! Without warning, he twisted Kai's wrist right round. While Kai was clutching his wrist, Ray dropped to the floor and brought his leg round, fast. Kai swore violently as his legs were scythed from underneath him and he fell, smashing his head against the ground.

"Kai? You alright, bud?" Kai opened his eyes to see a worried Ray looking down at him. He sat up and put a hand to his head, disorientated.

"Huh? What happened?" he muttered.

"Kai, how many fingers am I holding up?" Ray asked quickly.

"Four. What hap- oh wait, I remember now." Ray whistled in relief.

"Thank God! Kenny would've _killed_ me if I'd given you concussion. Headache?"

"Not really." Kai looked at Ray, seeing a rapidly swelling bruise on the side of his head. He looked away again.

"Sorry about...all that." he said, gesturing vaguely towards Ray. Ray grinned, knowing how muck Kai loathed apologising.

"'S'ok. You should probably apologise to Tyson, though." Kai's eyes hardened.

"Why should _I_ apologise to _him_?" he spat.

"Because you punched hin in the stomach." replied Ray calmly.

"He deserved it." Kai muttered rebelliously.

"No, he didn't. Now, are you going to apologise, or do I have to knock you over again?"

"You wouldn't!"

"True. So?"

"Alright already, I'll damn apologise!" snapped Kai. Ray stood up, ignoring the filthy look Kai was throwing him.

"Good. Coming?" he asked.

"Yes." Kai sighed, pulling himself to his feet.

"Alright! Go Ray!" Tyson cheered, watching as they both climbed to their feet.

"Hey Hil, what's up?" Max asked, seeing the thoughtful expression on Hilary's face.

"What? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about what I overheard Mr Dickenson saying a while ago."

"Which _was_?" Max said impatiently.

"That there was only four people who could talk sense into Kai when he was in a mood. One was Mr Dickenson himself, one was Judy, one was Gramps and one was Ray."

"Gramps? Tyson's _grandpa_!" Max said increduously.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Well, I've been thinking about that, and I reckon that it's because Kai only listens to people he respects-"

"He respects Gramps?!" Tyson exclaimed, coming up behind them.

"Why, hello Tyson, of _course_ you can listen in on our conversation, how silly of me!" Max said dryly. Tyson blushed slightly.

"Sorry." he muttered. Max laughed, cuffing his best friend lightly round the head.

"It's okay, Ty." They all looked towards the door as Kai and Ray came through.

Ray waved at them, then exchanged meaningful looks with Kai.

"What, now?" Kai hissed. Ray nodded. Kai scowled. Grumbling under his breath, he walked over to Tyson. Max and Hilary looked on with interest. Kai's pride wouldn't allow an outright apology, whilst Tyson's stubbornness meant that unless they were careful, they would have yet another fight on their hands. Kai's face was unreadable as he stood in front of Tyson.

"Your self-defence needs serious work, Tyson." he said curtly, spinning on his heel and striding out of the door. Everyone grinned. Typical Kai. Hilary suddenly noticed that Kenny was still typing frantically on Dizzi.

"Hey, Kenny," she said, walking over to him. "What you doing?"

"Something." said Kenny, without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Whatever it is Chief, could you _please_ slow down the typing? My keyboard isn't designed to be pounded!" whined Dizzi. Hilary shrugged and walked back to Max and the others.

"You all right, Ray?" Kenny said from across the room, eyeing the swelling bruise on Ray's head. "Kai gave you quite a battering!" Ray shrugged.

"I've had worse. I might not be up to cooking tonight, though, if that's okay with you guys?" Max and Hilary exchanged glances.

"Yeah, that's fine with us. Um, we were thinking, what do you think about going out, like, to a takeaway or something, instead of just ordering in, for a change?" Hillary said nervously. Ray shrugged.

"Yeah, sounds good. Where?"

"Pizza Hut!" Tyson suggested.

"McDonalds!" Max countered, grinning.

" _Pizza Hut_!"

" _McDonalds_!"

" ** _PIZZA HUT!"_**

" ** _McDONALDS!"_** Hilary sighed, looking helplessly towards Ray.

"Pizza Hut." Ray said firmly.

"Oh come on, Ray!" Max pleaded. Ray shook his head, then stopped, wincing, as the bruise on his head throbbed violently.

"No way. McDonalds is just processed animal skin on a plate. If I'm not cooking we're at least going to get something that actually qualifies as food!"

"Oh, all right..." Max groaned.

"Ha ha! In your _face_!" laughed Tyson, pointing at Max. Suddenly, Tyson, Max and Hilary all stopped dead and exchanged glances, grinning. Then...

"A PIZ-ZA HUT, A PIZ-ZA HUT, KEN-TUCKY FRIED CHICKEN AN' A PIZ-ZA HUT!" Ray grinned shaking his head gingerly as he watched them dance round the room. Were they ever going to grow up? Mind you, who wants to grow up? Not me! Ray thought, then ran forwards and linked arms with Tyson, singing as lustily as the others.

"McDO-ONALDS, McDO-ONALDS, KEN-TUCKY FRIED CHICKEN AN' A PIZZA HUT..."


	7. Chapter 7

Hilary pulled a pink blouse over her head, then started rummaging through her suitcase for a decent skirt. The problem is getting the balance right. she thought musingly to herself. There's a thin line between looking attractive and looking like a dolled-up tart!

This one? No, too long. I don't want to look like an old frump! How about this one? Ugh! Orange does _not_ go with pink, Hilary!

This one? No... Suddenly, the door flew open. Hilary let out a muffled shriek and leaped behind the suitcase, trying to pull her top down over her knickers.

" _Max_!" she yelled furiously. "I'm _trying_ to get dressed!" Max blushed tomato red and started to back out, muttering apologies. Hilary looked at him more closely. "Max? What's that on your face?"

"Nodebeed." Max explained thickly, trying to ignore the blood that was now trickling over his fingers. "Hab bu got any tibbues I can borrow?" Tibbues?

"Ah, tissues! Yeah, here..." Hilary went back into the suitcase and pulled out a pack of Kleenex.

"Thankbu." Max muttered, taking the pack and clamping one over his sore nose. Hilary carefully came out from behind the suitcase, trusting Max not to make any comments.

"So, how did that happen, then?" she asked. Max didn't answer.

Woah, is she ever pretty when she's angry! Max thought, staring at Hilary as if transfixed. 

_Wait. Did I just think what I thought I did?_

I. Just. Thought. That. Hilary. Was. Pretty.

Where the heck did that come from?

his is Hilary, Max. She has seen you in just about every embarrasing situation _possible_!

Anyway, she would never want to go out with me, everyone knows she's got a massive crush on Tyson...I wonder what would happen if I asked her out...

 _What the heck did I just think?_ _I've got to try and sort my stupid head out before it gets me into trouble!_

"Hello? Maax!" Hilary said, snapping her fingers in front of Max's glazed eyes. Max blinked and shook himself.

"Soby, Hil. I drifted off." he said, smiling sheepishly. Get a grip! he instructed himself firmly. Apart from anything else, who would want to go out with you when you sound like a frog? _Shut up brain, shut **up**!_

"Yes, I can see that!" Hilary giggled. "So, how did you get that nosebleed?"

"Um, what? Oh, thib? Yeah, a wall got in by way." Max said quickly. How long does it take for a nose to unclog? he wondered. Too long, the less rational part of his brain informed him.

"You walked into a wall?" Hilary laughed delightedly. Max blushed again.

"Uh huh," he muttered, hoping that he wasn't as red as he felt. Although, if he was as red as he felt, he'd be setting fire to the floor. He started walking quickly out of the room. Hilary's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey, Max?"

"Yeah?" he answered, as casually as possible. He turned around. Hilary was holding up three different skirts.

"Which one?"

"Huh?"

"Which _skirt_ , stupid!" Hilary giggled. Max blushed yet again.

"Umm...the black one?"

"Good choice. Thanks, Max!" Hilary said, smiling at him. Max's stomach started doing somersualts.

"Um, n-no problem-bye!" he stammered, practically running to the door and shutting it quickly behind him.

 _What was that about?_ he thought, wandering in a daze through Tyson's house. _Am I in **love** with-with **Hilary**?_ _And if I am, why now? I've known her for two years!_ He walked into the kitchen and sat slowly down on a chair, resting his head on the table, his "thinking" position.

"Hey, Max, are you alright?" a curt voice asked from somewhere above him. _No_. Max's brain said weakly.

"Yes, fine, Kai." his treacherous mouth said.

"Right..." Max raised his head slightly. It was most unlike Kai to just let something slip like that, especially since it was obvious that Max had something on his mind. He looked at Kai, who was standing against the wall, eyes closed, arms folded, giving nothing away. Then, he looked at Dranzer, who was circling the kitchen agitatedly, never settling on any one spot for more than a few seconds.

Max blinked and looked closer at the blue blade. Dranzer was reflecting Kai's real mood, Max was sure of it. The last time that either Kai or Dranzer had been this agitated though, Max thought anxiously, was when Kai had been battling Brooklyn... Dranzer flew back to Kai's hand, breaking Max's chain of thought.

"No, you're not." Kai said firmly. Striding up to the chair, he stood over Max.

"Look at me, Max."

Max looked up. He could only hold Kai's piercing violet gaze for a few seconds, before looking away. He could feel Kai's eyes searching him, looking for reasons as to why he was behaving strangely. Max sighed in relief as Kai finally looked away. "If I were you, I'd go and wash your face, Max. You've got blood all over it."

Max nodded vigorously. "After all," Kai continued, as he walked towards the door. "We wouldn't want your good looks to be spoiled now, would we?" Max froze. That was too close for comfort. He sat upright, looking frantically round the kitchen until he saw Kai, standing perfectly still in the doorway. Kai had guessed. Whether he knew _who_ Max was going ga-ga about was debatable. It was enough that he knew _anything_.

"Don't tell, Kai!" he begged.

"Don't tell what?" Kai said calmly. He gave Max a small smile and walked off, opening one of the sliding glass doors and stepping outside. Max relaxed fractionally. If Kai said that he wouldn't tell, nothing on earth would make him tell. Hopefully.


	8. Chapter 8

"Table for six." Kai said bluntly.

"Certainly. Over here." the employee said. Tyson suddenly let out a whoop.

"They have **_balloons_**! Kai, can I have a balloon? _Please_?"

"Oh God, it's like taking a five year-old out!" Kai muttered helplessly. "Yes, Tyson, you can have a balloon. Take two for all I care!"

"Yahoo!"

"Can I take your orders, please?"

"Yeah, sure." Ray answered. "Right, has everybody chosen what they want?"

"Yes!"

"OK then, we'll have a medium spinach and ham...a small marguerita ... two cheese and spicy chicken...two-Tyson, you are NOT having two pizzas. At least not straight away. Sorry, so make that a _large_ Meat Feast...and Kai?"

"Salad."

"That's all? And a salad please. Thanks."

Fifteen minutes later, the pizzas arrived.

"All right, who's got what? I forgot." Ray said, slightly embarrassed. He held up the marguerita. No-one moved. With a sigh, Hilary nudged Kenny.

"Kenny, your pizza's here." she hissed as Ray passed it over.

"What? Oh, right, thanks." Kenny mumbled. Everyone exchanged exasperated looks.

"Kenny," Tyson asked with exaggerated patience. "Why have you brought _Dizzi_ to _Pizza Hut_?"

"Believe me, it's not by choice!" Dizzi said impatiently. "I'd much rather be settling down for a nice long charge-up, but no, Mr I-know-everything insists that we finish the analysis on-" Her voice stopped suddenly.

"What happened, Chief?" Ray asked. "Did you finally manage to get her a mute button?" Everyone sniggered.

"No Ray, you know that if I try she just over-rides them." Kenny muttered. "She stopped because I don't want her talking about what we're doing until I've finished it."

"How-"

"I threatened to load up a video of Tyson at a buffet and put it on repeat, close-up." Kenny interrupted.

"Ooh, nasty!"

"So, when are you going to be finished?" Tyson asked, pretending that he hadn't heard the comment.

"In about ten minutes, interruptions permitting!" Kenny snapped. Everyone backed off, recognising the glint in Kenny's eye.

Ten minutes later...

"Tell me now, Chief!" Tyson moaned, stuffing the last of Kenny's pizza into his mouth and looking around to see if anyone else had left anything even remotely edible.

"Hold on just a second..." Kenny muttered, his fingers flying frantically over the keys. "Okay...done!" He leaned back with a satisfied smile.

"Ow..." Dizzi whimpered. "Kenny..." she whined. "Let me shut down. _Please_? I'm completely overloaded here!"

"In a minute, Diz, in a minute." Kenny said consolingly.

"So?" Tyson demanded. "What were you doing?"

"Analysing the data from Hilary's battle with Kai." Kenny said offhandedly.

"And that's taken you...what, seven hours?" Max asked, frowning. Kenny nodded.

"Uh-huh. Well, you see, I found a pretty striking similarity while I was doing it, and I needed to cross-reference it with my other data to make sure."

"And?" Tyson persisted.

"Well, basically - and you've probably all grasped this anyway - Hilary is a _natural_ beyblader." There was a short silence while the others digested this startling piece of information.

"You mean..." Max said slowly. "Natural like...Brooklyn?"

"Yep. Exactly like Brooklyn, except not quite that powerful." Kenny explained. "Power-wise, Hilary, you come in between Max and Ray. You see..." Hilary and Max listened intently as he began to explain it, actually really interested for once, while Tyson double-checked the table for scraps. Finding none, he resorted to the floor, crawling under the table to retrieve a dropped pizza crust. Popping it into his mouth, he chewed for a few seconds, before grimacing horribly.

"Urgh... spinach..."

To most people, right then, Kai would have seemed perfectly at ease. Or at least, no tenser than normal. Ray knew better. Leaning over, he gently tapped Kai on the shoulder.

"Kai?" he whispered. Violet eyes looked at him, deceptively blank. "Arms." Ray said urgently, nodding down to where Kai was ceaselessly rubbing the faint scars on his muscled arms, the only physical reminder of his battle with Brooklyn. Kai swore softly and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "You knew, didn't you?" Ray muttered. Kai nodded stiffly, looking fixedly ahead.

"I guessed." he said simply. "She was so good so fast, it was the only plausible explanation."

"You okay with it?"

"Fine. Stop worrying about me." he snapped, glaring at his best friend, who held up his hands defensively.

"Okay, okay, already! I can take a hint!" Ray said lightly, turning away just in time to see Tyson emerging from under the table. He pulled a disgusted face. "Tyson, dare I ask what you're eating?"

"Pifa," Tyson mumbled indistinctly. Ray groaned and shuddered.

"Tyson, you are..." He trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Hopeless?" Hilary suggested, averting her eyes from the sickening sight of Tyson crawling around on the floor hoovering up anything that he could find.

"I was thinking more along the lines of disgusting, but yes, that works pretty well." Ray replied, staring at the navy-haired boy.


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, Kai, do you want to - oh, sorry, you're on the phone." Tyson apologised hurriedly, ducking away from Kai's furious glare. Pointedly, Kai turned his back and continued talking quietly. Grumbling, Tyson wandered off, bumping into Max (literally) a little way along the hallway. "Max!" he said delightedly. "Wanna battle?"

Max blinked at his friend stupidly, waiting for his brain to catch up with reality again. _Okay, seeing Hilary getting undressed is not good for my poor little brain! Ha, little brain, that's true enough, anyway!_

"Huh? Oh, battle! Yeah, okay!" Tyson looked strangely at him for a minute, then grinned widely and grabbed Max by the hand, towing him along to the bey dish.

"Let it rip!" they cried out in unison, launching powerfully. The two beyblades landed in the dish. Draciel instantly sought the middle, while Dragoon raced around the edge.

"Go, Dragoon!" Tyson shouted, sending the white blade on a headlong crash into Draciel. Max laughed as Dragoon bounced harmlessly off his light-green beyblade.

"C'mon pal, you know Draciel and I better than that!" he chided mischievously. Tyson grinned back. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he made a slashing motion with one hand. Obediently, Dragoon swerved in. Before Max had a chance to so much as react, he was struggling to keep Draciel's defensive walls up as Dragoon slammed into the beyblade with devastating power.

"How's that, Maxie?" came the satisfied response. Max didn't reply, busy trying to keep Draciel spinning. Tyson might be an immature, loudmouthed, tactless dustbin on legs, but he wasn't World Champion for nothing.

"Stop showing off, Tyson!" Hilary snapped, coming in and folding her arms as she stared at the dish. Both boys, in the middle of an attack, turned to face her. Tyson managed to keep Dragoon spinning, but Max, completely distracted and fighting a blush, lost control as their blades collided. Draciel landed by his feet.

"Why'd ya stop?" Tyson demanded, catching Dragoon easily. Max shrugged, embarrassed at the way he had lost it.

"Yeah, Max, that's not like you at all!" Hilary agreed. She frowned. "You're not getting sick again, are you?" Max blushed furiously and shook his head.

_No, not sick, just bright red...okay, that distance is fine...that isn't...neither's that...and that's definitely - eep!_

"You're all red," Hilary announced from a distance that was all of two centimetres away from his face. Max blushed even more and mumbled something incoherent. _Okay, why is she this close?_ he thought frantically.

 _Why am I this close to him?_ Hilary screeched inside her head as she stared into his bright blue eyes. Neither of the two made any kind of effort to draw away from each other, gazing into the other's eyes like trapped rabbits.

"Um...what are you two doing?" Tyson asked, puzzled. Hilary blinked and backed away, at the same time as Max stepped backwards. "You're both bright red - hey, food! Ray, mate, you're the _best_!" He dashed into the kitchen. To save any embarrassing moments, both of them followed the dustbin in.

* * *

Hilary perched uncomfortably on the edge of the chair and tried to pull herself together. _Okay. I just went far too close to Max, and stayed there for too long. Meaning? Plus, why on earth was he blushing? Wait, cool it, Hil, you were blushing too! Don't deny it!_

"Stupid little voice…" she mumbled, then went tomato red when she saw Ray give her a quizzical look.

"Talking to yourself, Hil, you know what they say about that…" He grinned at her discomfort and went back to the sizzling bacon in the frying pan.

"Yeah," Max chimed in, swallowing his mouthful hurriedly. "You wanna know the other signs?" Hilary nodded settling herself more comfortably on the table. "Talking to inanimate objects, talking to ghosts or imaginary friends, _having_ imaginary friends, thinking that inanimate objects/ghosts/imaginary friends are out to get you." Hilary giggled, feeling another blush start spreading across her cheeks as Max looked at her and smiled cheekily.

"Hear that, Tyson?" she called to try and distract herself. Tyson looked up from his plate and stared blankly at the two younger people. Max repeated himself. Tyson frowned in thought.

"Tyson's thinking? Look, a pig just flew into the electric pylon out there…" Kenny muttered, from where he was alternating typing in data, eating, and MSN-ing Emily.

"But inanimate objects _are_ out to get me!" Tyson complained eventually. "Look!" He pulled up his T-shirt to reveal a yellowing bruise just above his right hip. "The water fountain attacked me!" An inspiration struck him and his face lit up. "Just like the wall attacked Max a couple of days ago, remember?"

"Oh yeah…evil thing!" Max did remember that - amongst other things - and it wasn't the evil, _evil_ wall that suddenly turned his face crimson. A loud curse came from where Kai was still on the phone. Or had been.

"Stupid thing attacked me!" the phoenix master yelled, rubbing his bare upper arm. "Bloody electrics…"

* * *

Ray, Kenny and Hilary sat back in silent bemusement and watched their friends discuss the wicked plan of all inanimate objects to take over the world.

"Tyson's had too much food," Kenny muttered calculatingly.

"Max's had five lollipops," Hilary added. "What's Kai had?" they said in unison, turning to Ray, who frowned and stared at the eldest blader, assessing him.

"Too much coffee." he said eventually. He stood up with a sigh. "Want to help me with the hose?"

"Um…"

"So, there was this freaky kerb once, and I was nowhere near it, I _swear_ , and it tripped me up! I went flying, like this…"

"Yeah, I think we'd better do something before they get any worse."

"I agree. Ray, if Kai goes ballistic, this was entirely your idea."

* * *

Three minutes later:

"WAIT 'TIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU THREE!" Kenny and Hilary hid behind Ray.

"AHH! I'M ALL WET!" Max pulled frantically at his sodden clothes.

"IT'S THE ATTACK OF THE MUTANT EVIL FREAKY HOSE!" Tyson started trying to hide under the table.

" _Tyson Granger, shut up before I strangle you_!" Everyone gaped in shock at Kenny, who coloured and hid behind Dizzi. "What? He's annoying me!"

"Just another meal with the Bladebreakers…" Max muttered dryly. Hilary giggled, her stomach flipping as Max smiled at her again.


	10. Chapter 10

After that...fiasco, the Bladebreakers calmed down. Calming Kai down might have meant shutting Tyson in the lounge for three hours, but if it stopped Kai from glaring at all and sundry and giving Ray death-threats for getting him soaked, then who were they to complain? Of course, no-one told Tyson that...

Sighing, Hilary shoved another stale slice of pizza under the door. _Like giving a baby a dummy_ , she thought as the complaints from inside stopped abruptly.

"Finished giving the baby his dummy?" Max asked, grinning. Hilary grinned back.

"I was just thinking that!" she exclaimed.

"Well, you know what they say about great minds..." Max joked.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't apply to you two!" Tyson yelled through the door.

"Oh? And who _does_ it apply to?" Hilary demanded.

"You?" Max offered helpfully.

"Yeah!"

"Yeah, right! In your dreams!" There was a long pause.

"Meanies..." Tyson grumbled, then fell silent.

"Hey, Kai?" Max shouted.

"What?"

"Can Tyson come out now?" There was another, long pause.

"If he really has to."

"Yahoo!" Tyson shot out of the door like a rocket and headed for the kitchen. Kai came inside, watching Tyson intently for anything that he could use for extra training.

"Max?" Max jumped slightly.

"Yeah?"

"Your defence needs working on again. Damn PPB Allstars, distracting you from what you're best at..." Colouring at the unaccustomed praise, Max nodded and followed Kai outside. Hilary peered out. She always enjoyed watching her boys beyblade. Soon, she was cheering loudly for Max. All to no avail, as Draciel landed outside the dish within a pathetically short space of time.

"Bad luck, Max!" she said sympathetically. Max shrugged, trying not to show his disappointment at the speed with which Kai had overpowered him.

"Guess I still need to practice."

"I'll say you do." Kai interrupted from the other side of the garden. "Hilary, you go against Max." Hilary twitched.

" _Kai!_ I don't _want_ to!" she wailed.

"Tough. Stop acting like a three year-old." Grumbling, Hilary took Kai's place opposite Max and clumsily fitted the beyblade to the launcher.

"Glad to know you enjoy my company so much, Hil," Max commented dryly. Hilary blushed.

"Oh, it's not you!" she told him hurriedly. "I just know Kai wants me to use Dyler, that's all." Max frowned.

"Why don't you like your bit-beast?" he asked curiously. Hilary shrugged, shuffling her feet.

"It doesn't seem to like me." she mumbled, her face pink.

"Hil," Max said impatiently, "Like is a two-way thing! If you don't like it, why would it have any reason to like you?" _Pity crushes aren't two-way things…_ Hilary thought, watching as Max reloaded Draciel into its launcher and settled into his launching position, a heavy feeling her chest. She had worked out that she had a crush on Max earlier on, a little after the hose incident. It had come as a bit of a surprise, to say the least. He _was_ seriously cute though, if she thought about it…

Max was watching her too, she realised. They stayed in position for a good thirty seconds, just looking at each other. It wasn't that they were communicating or anything along those lines, it was just they couldn't seem to look away…

"Get on with it!" Kai ordered, leaning out of the door and glaring at them. They both jumped a mile in the air, blushing furiously and mentally cursing the captain. "Swear at me afterwards, battle now! 3, 2, 1, let it rip!" Hilary launched ineptly, unprepared for the speed that Kai had counted down at. Her beyblade zipped around the edge, not even disturbing Draciel, which was spinning calmly in the centre, waiting for her to make the first move. Taking up on the challenge, Hilary concentrated hard. Her blade crashed against Draciel, but skidded off within milliseconds of contact.

"Come on, Hil!" Max encouraged, his familiar, cheerful grin firmly in place. "You can do way better than that!"

"I know, I know, don't go _on_ about it!" Hilary muttered, irritated. Max's cheery expression faltered, changing to one of puzzlement. Draciel nudged Hilary's blade almost curiously, the faintest of contacts. The turquoise beyblade skidded violently to one side and wobbled dangerously. Hilary and Max's eyes widened in shock, and the sound of Kai shouting for Kenny only intensified the situation. There was rarely a situation that Kai felt that he couldn't handle on his own. _Very_ rarely. As in; _never._

"Come on, Hil," Max practically whispered, his sea-blue eyes vivid with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Hilary snarled. Her blade slammed ineffectually into Draciel. "I just don't want my bit-beast involved in this, that's all!" She bit her lip, furious with herself as attack after attack on Draciel left the bulky green blade virtually untouched. Why was she suddenly so weak? She was stronger than this, even without her bit-beast! She _was_!

Unnoticed by anyone, a flicker of golden light hovered over Hilary's beyblade for a moment.

Max stared worriedly at his secret crush. Hilary was breathing hard, her eyes wide and blazing mahogany, her fists clenched by her sides. She was absolutely _furious_ with her performance, Max thought. The kind of anger that was generally Tyson's prerogative, blind, headstrong rage. The dangerous kind.

"Hil, you wanna calm down? You're turning into Tyson!" He forced a laugh. She looked at him, and for a second, her rage seemed to fade. A moment later, Max saw that no, it hadn't, it had simply…frozen over.

"Not like I can help it." she said icily, before turning her attention to the dish and the futile battle going on. Reluctantly, with an uneasy feeling in his stomach, Max did the same.

* * *

Tyson peered nervously round the door, looking out into the hallway. Ray was pacing up and down relentlessly, his face tight. Kai was sitting perfectly still, staring outside, barely even blinking. Kenny was typing frantically and exchanging shriller and shriller words with Dizzi.

"What's going on?" Ray was the only one who bothered to move. He covered the distance between them in a single stride.

"Hilary's going absolutely out of her mind with anger because she's blading badly, her bit-beast is responding to it and she still won't let it out."

"Why is she blading badly?"

"Because she doesn't know exactly how strong her bit-beast is and she's accidentally keeping back a lot of her own power as well. Plus, Max is deliberately holding Draciel back, he's obviously trying to give her a chance to get the better of him."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning there's a lot of power building up out there. A _hell_ of a lot." Tyson swallowed and gripped Dragoon tightly, noticing for the first time Ray's white-knuckled hold on Driger.

* * *

Hilary fell to her knees, her legs shaking too violently to support her. Frustration built inside her. Her head throbbed with it, there was a horrible tight feeling in her chest.

"Hilary?" Max's uncertain voice floated through the fog in her head. "You okay? Don't you reckon we should stop the match now?"

She jerked her head fiercely to the side; no. She couldn't understand it, why the hell was she so _weak?_ She _had_ to win this, her befuddled mind decided, if she won it, then she wouldn't be pathetic, this horrible battle wouldn't have happened….

"Stupid blade!" she yelled suddenly, glaring venomously at the turquoise beyblade. "Fine! You want out? Come on out!" Her eyes glittered with triumph. She was going to win now! "Go, _Dyler_!"

An unearthly howl boomed overhead and the turquoise blade flooded with gold light. It collected in a little glowing ball, too radiant to look at, and then something began to emerge. Two jet-black eyes stared at Max from amidst a swirling, gleaming tangle of streams of power. Max gazed back into the eyes, those bottomless black holes, filled with rage at being supressed for so long.

Coming to his senses, Max called out Draciel as fast as he possibly could and prepared himself for the fight of his life. This was one bit-beast that wasn't going to give up.

Hilary snapped out of her confused state and watched with horror as the giant tortoise struggled against the shapeless foe.

" _Max_!" Her voice rang out uselessly, flat and strange-sounding in the suddenly thick air. " _MAX_!"


	11. Chapter 11

Hilary gazed in terror at the sight before her. Sweat was standing out on Max's forehead as he poured all of his strength into Draciel, his clothes torn with the clashing powers in front of him.

" _Draciel_!" His yell sounded thin and insignificant, yet the massive water spirit turned its head towards him and waited patiently for a command. " _Tsunami Barrier_!" Instantly, a sheet of water thrust itself between the two bit-beasts, the constantly shifting surface making it doubly difficult to break through. Draciel moved backwards, its foot hitting the ground with a loud thud. Max wiped a strand of hair out of his eyes, panting heavily as he kept up the virtually unbreakable defence. "Hilary!" he shouted hoarsely. "Can't you make it stop?" Hilary shook her head frantically.

"How?"

"I don't know! It's _your_ bit-beast!" 

_For all the good it does me, it might as well not be mine_ , Hilary complained mentally. As if in response to her thoughts - and for all she knew it might have actually been able to hear them - the sphere of golden light began to pulse faster, the black eyes narrowing to thin slits.

At that second, Max fell to one knee, giving up the barrier in favour of not passing out. Instantly, when Max was at his most vulnerable, the turquoise beyblade hurtled towards Draciel. Turquoise hit green with a sickening crack and Max and Draciel were sent flying backwards.

Max landed in a limp heap against a tree trunk, a battered, splintered Draciel near his feet.

Hilary screamed in panic, struggling to her feet. Abruptly, a hand on each of her shoulders pushed her aside and Kai shoved past her, his beyblade flying through the air to land squarely next to the unrestrained bit-beast. Dranzer materialised quickly, letting out a deafening shriek.

Suddenly, Driger joined Dranzer with a loud roar. Hilary spun round and saw Ray standing just behind her, his eyes glittering fiercely with the light of battle. Tyson was there too, just about to launch. Seeing Hilary staring at him, he gave her a confident grin and a wink, releasing Dragoon. Hilary smiled back weakly.

The three powerful bit-beasts circled the golden sphere, restraining it with relative ease.

"Driger, Voltage Claw!"

"Dranzer, Solar Flare!"

"Dragoon, Cyclone Tempest!" The three ancient spirits unleashed their most powerful attacks.

"Guys, are you okay?" Hilary called shakily. "Will it go back in the bit-chip now?"

"We're restraining it, Hilary. There's a difference." Kai called back, his voice hostile. Anger powered Dranzer, and anger was what Kai was very good at. "Only you can send it back in."

"But I don't _want_ to! I can't!" Her bit-beast let out another unnatural howl and flung itself at Driger. Ray let out a loud curse as blood started flowing down his arm.

"Yes you can, Hil!" Tyson yelled encouragingly.

"You can do it, Hil!" Ray agreed through gritted teeth. Hilary shook her head, shrinking away, her eyes fixed on the terrifying sight before. Suddenly, Kai appeared in front of her, his eyes incandescent with fury. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, hard. His hands were burning hot.

"Control it, you stupid little girl!" he snarled. She shook her head again. Tears of sheer terror streamed down her face. "You're the only one that knows its name! Call it back!" He shook her again.

"But-"

" _Do it_!" Swallowing, Hilary pulled herself out of Kai's grip and took a hesitant step forwards. She opened her mouth to yell, but nothing came out. Suddenly she caught sight of Max, still unconscious, his face horribly still and pale. Anger and fear rose up inside her in equal measures, fighting for dominance. Eventually, anger won.

"D-Dyler! Return to your beyblade!" she ordered, her voice trembling, yet loud and clear. Silence fell.

The bit-beast's shapeless form turned towards her, black eyes blinking in astonishment. Slowly, it began to dematerialise, showing hints of its true form. Peaceably, it disappeared back into the bit-chip.

The turquoise beyblade slowed and stopped spinning.

Hilary stared at it blankly for a few seconds, then stood up and stumbled over to Max. Tyson and Kenny, who had been crouching just inside the doorway recording everything, followed her, leaving Kai to grab Ray and pull him away to stop his arm bleeding.

Timidly, Hilary patted Max's arm.

"Max?" she whispered, scrubbing at her wet face with her other hand. "Max? Wake up, please…" Max's eyelids twitched. Slowly, his eyes opened and he blinked sleepily. Hilary beamed fresh tears trickling down her cheeks. "Oh Max, you're all right!" She flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Hil? This is nice…but air would be good…" Max mumbled, making absolutely no effort whatsoever to push her off. Hilary giggled hysterically and sat up.

"Sorry." Max nodded, his eyes closing.

"'s 'kay…" he mumbled, before dropping off to sleep.

"Hilary?" She turned around to see Kenny holding out her beyblade. She stared at it, suddenly feeling sick. "Go on, it can't hurt you." Hesitantly, she reached out and took the damaged blade. "I'll fix it, if you like." Kenny offered. Hilary didn't react, gazing intently at the bit-chip. The blur over it had faded slightly, she could almost, _almost_ make out the outline of her bit-beast.

"You okay, Hilary?" Kai asked, jogging up to them minus his scarf. She nodded vaguely. The three boys exchanged looks.

"How's Ray?" Tyson asked in a effort to change the subject.

"He's fine. It was quite a bleed." Kai replied curtly.

"Which is why you needed to use your scarf?" Kenny asked curiously.

"Only as a temporary measure. I've sent him back inside to find a decent bandage." Kai looked over at Max. "Is he all right?"

"Yeah, he's just exhausted." Tyson replied. Kai nodded. Striding over to the sleeping boy, he scooped him up in a fireman's lift and walked back inside, calling for Kenny to show him the footage of the battle. Kenny scuttled after him obediently.

The beyblade fell from Hilary's hand, and the girl stared vacantly at it. Suddenly, she dissolved into noisy, hiccupping sobs. Unexpectedly, Tyson put his arms around her and held her tightly, resting his head on hers and whispering comfortingly. She leant her head on his chest and relaxed into the security of his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

 _It's just because he's comforting me_ , she rationalised _. I don't really fancy him. I like **Max** in that way_.


	12. Chapter 12

Max rolled over, groaning softy as he surfaced from sleep. Opening his eyes slowly, he blinked a few times to bring the room into focus. Ray was sitting in a chair a few metres away, his eyes closed.

"Ray?" Max whispered, his voice croaky from his long sleep, "Are you awake?" Ray nodded without opening his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm awake. How are you?" he asked. Max shrugged.

"Tired. And I feel a bit sick, too..." Ray nodded. He rubbed his face with both hands and his eyes slowly slid open, gazing at Max groggily.

"Everyone's been feeling sick, Kai says it's an after-effect of the amount of power we all used up." His mouth twisted in what Max supposed could be called some kind of annoyed smile. "Of course, that was only after Kenny pointed out to him that if all three of us were complaining about it, it was unlikely to be just Tyson's hypochondria." Max rolled his eyes at the typically Kai-like comment.

"You know what he's like," he offered. "Anyway, why do you look so awful?" Ray smiled thinly.

"Thanks for the compliment." he commented dryly. Max blushed.

"Sorry," he apologised quickly. "It wasn't supposed to sound like that."

"No problem," Ray waved the apology off with a limp movement of one hand. "I underestimated just how much this would bleed." He shifted positions and showed Max his bandaged arm, the rough cloth completely saturated with blood. Max's eyes widened and he gaped silently. "And this is the _third_ bandage." Ray muttered, almost to himself. He yawned and closed his eyes again. "Sorry pal, I'm not the best conversationalist at the moment..." He trailed off.

"Why don't you lie down?" Max asked curiously. It seemed like common sense to him. Ray blinked sleepily at him.

"Good idea." he murmured. Standing up, he wobbled his unsteady way over to his bed and collapsed onto it. "G'night Max..." Max smiled as Ray's eyes closed. A few minutes later, the sound of his even breathing sounded in the room. Max snuggled back down under the covers, stuck in the nice patch of sleep where you've woken up, but you're so warm that you just can't be bothered to move... Fuzzily, he wondered if Hilary was all right.

* * *

Hilary sat in the lounge, staring blurrily at Dyler. For the first time, she felt as if there actually something _there_ , as opposed to just a horrible thing that hurt her friends. A warm, comforting presence that wrapped itself around her and smoothed away at her raw nerves. Two black eyes seemed to hover in the air above the beyblade and she felt a pressure in her head, like a sound that was too high to hear. Reaching out, she tentatively picked up the blade and held it tightly.

"What is it, Dyler?" she whispered. Suddenly, her peace was broken by the sound of the lounge door shutting.

"You okay, Hil?" Tyson's normally jovial, impish attitude had disappeared, leaving a serious, concerned sixteen year-old in its place. The Tyson that no one had seen since the third World Championships had ended. She blinked, momentarily confused, before her sense came back to her.

"I'm okay, thanks, Ty." She smiled as the boy sat down next to her and flashed her one of his easy grins. "How's everyone doing?" Tyson shrugged.

"Kai's still wound up, so I'm keeping out of his way, and Kenny's going over the battle data and fixing Draciel for Max."

"What about Max and Ray?"

"I had a look, and I think they're both asleep." Hilary nodded slowly, her mind flying back to the battle a few hours ago, replaying in her head the moments when both Max and Ray had crossed the bit-beast's - _her_ bit-beast's - path and come off worse. She shivered despite her best efforts, the tentative feeling of friendliness that had been building up towards the spirit vanishing as she heard her friends cry out in pain again. A hand rested lightly on her leg and gave her a little shake, snapping her out of her momentary daze. Dark brown eyes stared at her, filled with worry. "Don't blame yourself, Hil, okay?" Tyson asked awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable with the messy business known as emotions.

"Why not?" she snapped back. "If I hadn't been so stupid, none of this would have happened!" Tyson shrugged again.

"We've all done really stupid things." He smiled ruefully. "Me more than most."

"Yeah, you said it." They grinned at each other. Hilary's grin was forced, and she turned her head away quickly. Tyson grabbed her shoulder again and turned her to face him.

"Come on, Hil," he pleaded. "Cheer up. I don't like it when you're all sad like this." He coloured furiously and looked away as his brain registered what had just come out of his infamously large mouth. A true grin curled the corners of Hilary's mouth upwards.

"Come here, you dumb idiot." She pulled him into a tight hug. Looking up at him, she was about to make a sarcastic comment comparing him Kai in the emotion department, when a pair of lips on hers silenced her abruptly.

The kiss was nothing, a mere brush of lips against lips. Instantly, Hilary pulled back, confusion swirling around in her head and making her feel faint. She must have looked shocked as she gazed dazedly up at Tyson, because his gaze darkened and he looked away from her as though he was ashamed.

"I-I'm sorry, Hil." he mumbled, standing up so quickly she tumbled off him and landed with a bump on the hard wooden floor. "I…I wasn't thinking straight, sorry…it won't happen ag-"

"Shut up, Ty," she snapped, her tone unnecessarily sharp as her thoughts spun. "I just…need some time to think, okay?" Tyson nodded and walked away, his shoulders hunched in shame and unhappiness.

"You're not mad at me, are you Hil?" he asked nervously as he reached the doorway. Hilary laughed, a high-pitched, brittle sound that made them both wince.

"Now you sound like Daichi." she said sardonically.

"Oh, not him again…" They smiled at each other tentatively, then Tyson turned and left. Hilary stretched out on the floor and stared blankly at the planks of wood.

 _Since when did my life get this complicated?_ she thought miserably. She was sunk so deep in thought that she didn't hear the door shut quietly, long after Tyson had gone.

* * *

"Mmph? Oh, hi Kai." Max wriggled out of the cocoon of blankets that he had wrapped around himself and grinned at Kai, who nodded curtly and continued changing the bandage on the sleeping Ray's arm. "Wanna hand?" Kai shrugged one shoulder.

"Whatever." Max rolled his eyes mentally and scrambled out of bed. He wobbled over to where Kai was standing and obligingly held the other end of the bandage. "You feeling okay?" Kai asked suddenly. Max blinked, taken aback by the unexpected concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine now, thanks." They worked in silence until Kai stepped back and ran both hands up his arms, a sure sign that something was irritating/annoying/concerning him.

"What's up, bud?" Max inquired curiously. Kai pressed his lips tightly together, then sighed heavily.

"Your little…distraction, Max, you know what I'm talking about…just watch it okay? I don't want anything to mess up this team's friendship." Looking as though he already regretted saying the little that he had, he turned around and left without a word.

Max bit his lip, puzzling Kai's cryptic little speech out in his head. Little distraction… He blushed; that was Hilary. Watch it? Watch what? Watch how he handled his crush, because Kai thought it was mucking up his blading? Nope, that wasn't it…

The pin suddenly dropped. Watching _Hilary_ , because someone else on the team had a crush on her as well! A thought hit him and his heart sank.

"God, I hope it's not Kai," he whispered. Another thought hit him, and his heart sunk even further. "Or Tyson."

He might as well just give up hope here and now.

 _How on earth could I ever compete with either of them?_ he asked himself sadly.


	13. Chapter 13

Hilary shut the bathroom door behind her. At last, a decent bath! Gramps (and by default, Tyson) considered the bath almost a sacred thing, and it had taken her a _long_ time to cajole Tyson into letting her use it. She filled the bath, then stripped and got in, sighing in contentment as the warm water reached her neck.

Baths were the best place to think, and wow, did she need to have a think!

She had evaluated her mental state in about two seconds flat; confused. She liked Max, and she liked Tyson as well. Oh joy; note the sarcasm. Wasn't life great? And she had thought it was complicated enough back when she had first joined up with the Bladebreakers and had got a crush on both Kai _and_ Tyson.

Both crushes had faded quickly, leaving her with the comfortable feeling of equality that was part of the reason that she enjoyed hanging around with the five boys that had become her best friends. Kai especially never featured in her thoughts nowadays, not in _that_ way, anyway. Just as well, she couldn't cope with liking three out of five boys…

Groaning in despair, she shifted positions, sending deliciously warm water sloshing around her. This didn't even make any _sense_. Everyone and anyone she knew admitted freely that although Max and Tyson were attractive in their own way, the real heart-throbs of the team were Kai and Ray. And yet, she felt nothing for either of them, and something for _both_ of the younger bladers. Logic dictated that her fifteen-nearly-sixteen year-old hormones would go for the hottest boys around, didn't it? Why couldn't everything just make sense again? Sighing, she closed her eyes, determined to enjoy this rare bath if it was the last thing she felt like doing!

Suddenly, the door swung open. Hilary's outraged scream resounded in harmony with a shocked yelp, and the door slammed shut.

"What on _earth_?" she demanded shrilly, scooping bubbles over herself protectively.

"Sorry, Hil, I am _so_ sorry, I wasn't paying attention!" Max babbled, panicked, from the other side of the door. Hilary relaxed. Slightly.

"It's okay, Max, just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay," came the subdued reply. "I really am sorry, though. I never meant to - it was an accident-"

"Max, zip it!"

"Yes, Hilary…" _He sounds unhappy_ , Hilary realised guiltily.

"Are you okay?" she called.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Oh, you just sounded a bit down, that's all!" Hilary said airily. Her eyes narrowed calculatingly. _Max, what are you hiding from me?_ she questioned silently. She sat up and yanked out the plug. Scrambling out and nearly slipping on the damp floor, she began to dry herself. "Are you _sure_ you're all right?" she asked, having not heard him move away.

"I'm okay…" The soft reply sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than her, and Hilary felt a strange, half warm, half angry feeling make a tight ball at the back of her throat. Dressing as quickly as she could, she opened the door and peered out. Max was standing a few metres away, his sparkling blue eyes gloomy.

"Max?" she asked cautiously. The blond jumped violently and forced a grin.

"Hey, Hil," he replied cheerfully enough. "Don't worry about me, okay? I'm sure you've got better things to waste your time on than that." Bitterness crept into his tone as steadily as pink was creeping over his freckled cheeks. Hilary felt heat spreading over her own cheeks almost in response, and it took all the will she had to avert her gaze from Max's captivating eyes.

"Well, remember, if you ever need to talk, I'm always here." she offered, mentally berating herself for the clichéd sentence.

"Yeah, thanks." His tone stayed unhappy.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Max shrugged. "Come on, Max, you can tell me, can't you?"

* * *

Max looked up at Hilary, saw the pleading, anxious look in her beautiful mahogany eyes and his mind started racing for a reason to be upset that she would find plausible. He thought of one quite easily, it had been plaguing him for a while, as a matter of fact.

"I just think that people don't take me and Draciel _seriously_!"

"Like how?" Hilary demanded sceptically. Max grinned despite his sadness at the sudden, argumentative light that had appeared in her eyes.

"Well, I'm the only one without a flashy attack." he muttered, feeling heat spread to the very roots of his hair. "I mean, Ray and Kai can produce the world's coolest lightshow, Tyson can make himself fly, and all I can do is shove a wall of water at my opponents!" He cringed inwardly as Hilary starting giggling. _There goes yet another example of my incredible ability to impress anyone. I can make them laugh, yep, but impress them? Leave them thinking: ooh, that Max Tate is well cool! Nope not me, wrong number, please try again._

"Why don't you ask Kenny to lend you a hand?" Max blinked himself back to reality and responded with that peak of conversational intellect used in debates all over country:

"Huh? What d'you say?" Hilary laughed and tossed her head, sending her damp hair swinging everywhere.

"Well, Maxie, you've got water and gravity, yeah? They could be really impressive! Just use your head! I'm sure you and Kenny could come up with loads of cool ideas!" She grinned at him confidently. Feeling only slightly better, he smiled back. Suddenly, Hilary moved forwards and hugged him tightly. "You can do it, Max!" she whispered into his ear. "Cheer up!" She let go and moved away, looking almost as surprised as Max, but not at all unhappy with the turn of events. A true grin spread across Max's face.

"Will do, Hil!" he exclaimed, laughing at the unintentional rhyme. Bubbling over with exuberance all of a sudden, he hurried off to find Kenny.

Humming a little dazedly to herself, Hilary wandered off as well, her internal love-compass beginning to ease in one direction.

 _Maybe this won't be so bad…_ she thought hopefully to herself.


End file.
